Wednesday, October 01, 2008

tranquil space studio muse

welcome to october at tranquil space. a lovely chill is in the air, leaves are beginning to fall, and we’re celebrating our 9th year of serving tranquility to washingtonians. as we honor our 9th year, i wanted to share a brief history of our journey:

1999: classes were launched in my 4th floor walk up at 16th and u by hanging fliers around the neighborhood2000: outgrew the living room and moved to a church parlor at 16th and q2001: began selling tranquil space tees and donating percentages to our first charity, my sister’s place2002: launched our teacher training level 1 program and the TranquiliT line which debuted at a fundraiser we held for the rape crisis center2003: launched our 200-hr teacher training program and moved to a 2-level space on p street2004: tranquil space bethesda was born2005: voted dc’s best yoga studio by washington post readers, began hosting annual doga events to raise awareness for the humane society, and TranquiliT went green with fabrics for the line2006: launched our own non-profit, tranquil space foundation, and released my first book, hip tranquil chick2007: named among the top 25 yoga studios in the world by travel + leisure and launched tranquil space arlington2008: moved into our new 3-level home on 17th street and began planting trees for every class pass purchased

this past weekend we had our annual team retreat where our team from our three locations came together. we divided into groups based on our five studio values: creativity, compassion, passion, community, and initiative, and had a guest speaker from lululemon (one of my most respected companies) come in to share some inspiring fodder. next we worked on our 1, 5, and 10-year goals for ourselves and the studio, received studio updates, did pranayam and practiced meditation, and had a fashion show featuring fall eco-friendly TranquiliT.

seeing the team together in this capacity each year means so much to me. the group is dynamic, incredibly talented, and so supportive of one another. one of the nicest compliments we receive from within and outside the studio is how special our community truly is. when i started the studio (a tiny seedling of what we are now), i wanted a space where people would feel catered to, acknowledged and appreciated. think norm from the tv show cheers minus the drink. washingtonians are very busy and deserve a space where they can surrender their blackberries, turn within, and get served tea and cookies.

thank you for your continued trust along this journey. many yogis have moved, returned to dc, had babies, gotten married, had more babies, switched jobs, and returned to tranquil space. we continue to do all we can to offer you a well-rounded lifestyle experience through our classes, workshops, retreats, spa, boutique, and tea bar. again, i thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support over the years and especially to my amazing team who ensures tranquility is served with all our special touches.

p.s. check out a fun feature in bisnow where i'm coined "zen woman." hmmm. interesting choice of words. happy to see that the writer kept my book buying, e-mail, handstand, and lip gloss addictions under wraps.